Describing his rise to the top as "humbling", Microsoft's Hyderabad-born CEO Satya Nadella said technology industry respects only "innovation" and not tradition.

The company has seen great success but "we are hungry to do more", Nadella said in his first mail to employees after being appointed as the CEO on Tuesday of the $78 billion software giant.

He said his job would be to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a "mobile and cloud-first world".

Reminiscing his first day at work 22 years ago, Nadella-the first Indian to head Microsoft-said he joined the firm because he believed it was the best company in the world.

"I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today," Nadella noted.

The appointment is a significant achievement for Nadella as he is the third CEO in the Redmond-based company's 38-year history, after co-founder Bill Gates and current chief Steve Ballmer.

"Today is a very humbling day for me. Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can't ask for a better foundation," Nadella said.

Outlining his plans for the days ahead, Nadella said he believes that over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient.

"Our industry does not respect tradition it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world," he said. .

Nadella said he will focus on the need to prioritise innovation that is centred on the core value of empowering users and organisations to "do more" and "do new things".

"Every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this," he said.

Nadella said over the next decade computing will become more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient.

"The co-evolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitise many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world.

"This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning," he added.

Nadella said: "This is a software-powered world. It will better connect us to our friends and families and help us see, express, and share our world in ways never before possible."

Nadella, 46, who counts cricket as a "passion" and played the game as a member of his school's team said: "I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career."

He said he has been "fortunate" to work closely with both Gates and Ballmer in his different roles at Microsoft, and as "I step in as CEO, I have asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products."